Indonesian food

Indonesian cuisine is much more than just sate, nasi goreng and mie goreng, although no one would’ve guessed it from the vast amounts of those dishes I consume during my indonesia visit. Blame it on my memories.

Indonesia’s unique cuisine is still largely unknown to the outside world, a product of many borrowed cooking styles and ingredients. The Arabs and Indians brought along their spices and martabak and the Spanish introduced the Indonesians to a lifelong affair with chili. But it was the Chinese who had the greatest impact of all: they introduced now-Indonesian staples such as mie (noodles), soy sauce (which becomes kecap manis when sugar is added), taugeh (bean sprouts), and soybeans used to make tahu (tofu) and tempeh (fermented soybean, usually formed into a sheet and fried). Ironically, the Dutch, who ruled Indonesia for a little over a century, weren’t very influential on the local cuisine.

Martabak 

Indonesia’s staple, like the Philippines, is rice. A typical meal consists of the white grain with several small savory (protein) dishes, a moderate serving of sayur, (vegetables), the ever-present sambal (chili sauce or paste), and crispy wafers called krupuk. The krupuk I know (see photo above) is flat with a distinct smell and taste of shrimp, thus krupuk udang (shrimp). I’m told however, that the more traditional krupuk is called krupuk kampung (see below), which is whiter, made with fish, and possesses an interesting interwoven design. It’s slightly blander and somewhat “chewier” than the former. Krupuk is eaten as a snack but is more often paired with a meal to provide crunchy contrast.

krupuk udang

krupuk kampung (see below)

 

Sate Khas Senayan
For my first meal in Jakarta, I return to the Indonesian restaurant that I grew up eating in, Sate Senayan. It’s now called Sate Khas Senayan, but the food still tastes the same. I’m amazed at how my Bahasa Indonesia comes flooding back when faced with an entirely Indonesian menu. Terms like daging (beef), babi (pork), cumi (squid), and ayam (chicken) float before my eyes and I find myself conversing quite comfortably with the waitress. My Bin is looking at me bug-eyed, wondering at the strange sounds coming out of my mouth.

I order all of my favorites: nasi goreng (fried rice), mie goreng (fried noodles), sate ayam (chicken satay), lontong (cubes of pressed rice often served with peanut sauce), krupuk, and deep-fried tofu stuffed with seafood. It’s a veritable feast for just two people, meriting me a curious chuckle from the waitress. “Selamat makan,” she says, wishing us a happy meal.

Happy it is, and happy I am. Every bite of food releases a filmstrip of things I remember from 20 years ago, — memory triggers, meals — sending me back to long-forgotten moments, aromas, people in my Jakarta life. It’s enough to make me weep. Tastes that have been frozen in time in my head are suddenly unlocked, finding wholeness in the nutty smell of the peanut sauce, the characteristic grilled taste of the sate, the oiliness of the nasi goreng, and the soft denseness of the lontong. Long have I waited for this lontong, which could be a sister to the Philippines’, except that it’s unsweetened. Its packed, plain flavor is a foil to the other more pronounced tastes, allowing them to ring forth.